After a crazy few weeks of packing, end of year activities, Christmas parties and farewells….(okay and tennis too), we are now just sitting in our bums at my friend’s bach (North Island kiwanese for summer home, in South Island it’s call a crib). Originally it was supposed to be me, her and our kids, but when the weather turned bad and her son was invited to a mate’s birthday party it became a family getaway for us. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my friend Cherie. She and I always laugh our arses off when we’re together. And our kids get along beautifully. But these past few days have been a gift like no other. It’s actually given us a taste of what it will be like on our caravan. Kinda…

To get a true taste of what that would be like, we would have had to jam all of us and our stuff into one room and used that space to cook in too. So no, this bach is not even close to the roughing and toughing it we will be doing in our ‘luxury’ aluminium box, but we have had to relearn to live and work together. My darling husband got to experiment with working remotely with the kids and me in his space. To his credit, he has not barked at us once. Were the roles reversed I think I would have lost it once or twice.

The first day we got here I was so tired that I let the kids go off and play with knives, but by day two we set the travel rules: no television and kids only allowed devices for 1/2 hr at the end of the night. It’s been magic. Yes, my son did drive me crazy with all the noise (talking, singing, mumbling, humming) he makes, but other than that, it has been SO good. We have talked, laughed, and reconnected. I have been impressed with my daughter’s wit and it has given me great pleasure to see evidence of how my son has grown up this year. It has been so nice to just be, just be a family.

It’s nightime, the kids are in bed with their books and I am sitting here on their deck, drinking a glass of red, typing away and I can hear the ocean in the background. It’s magical. Thank you K & C!!!

While discussing storing one of Nuno’s toys…

Nuno: But mom, what if we don’t come back to this country?

Me: The plan is that we will come back here in a year.

Lana: The plan right now, but that can change.

Me:….kid has a point

Almost a year ago we arrived in New Zealand. The agreement was that my husband had 365 days to convince me that New Zealand was the place for us. If he did not accomplish that mission, then the deal was that I could get on a plane with my children and head back home. He could follow us if he wished, but the kids and I did not have to stay.

Well, that bloody school we sent our kids to did the trick. Yes, we have lovely friends and of course our family is great, but we have great friends and fabulous family in the States too, so that doesn’t help us make a final decision. But that school. Damn that school! It was just so wonderful that it made the decision for us.

So here we were with a decision made, but something was still missing and people that something was 1) my dad and 2) ‘Portugueseness’. Yep. Missed the old man and also felt that my kids would be missing out on a whole aspect of my culture that I alone could not pass on to them. This is where my brilliant husband comes in. He suggested we move to Portugal for a year and have one other little adventure before we FINALLY settle down. I couldn’t book the flights fast enough.

So here we are. We have moved out of our house. Everything is in storage (thank you Gran & Grandad), tickets are booked, kids are signed up for a distance learning program (fingers still crossed they’ll opt to go to the local school) but first, yes first, we are going to tour South Island, NZ. We bought a super light caravan. My friend Leanne refers to it as the ‘aluminium box’ and my friend Sarah reckons she got car sick just walking unto it. But I will remain positive and channel all the energy of the caravaners who came before us. Good times ahead!!!